A Story of a Life
by Aarkwing
Summary: The story of Arkwing and how she came to be who she is. From birth Arkwing was diffrent. Her mother died giving birth to her. This story was inspired by the lion king but dosnt really make a refrence towards it just to let you know.
1. Chapter 1

_The frost moon lit up the night sky above as Whisp padded away from her pride._ She turned her head around and took one last look at the pride she had called home for so many years. The lions were clustered around the pines in groups. It was the time of tongues, when they shared stories. Whisp turned back to the path thinking that in a few months the stories could very well be about her. She had done a good job concealing her pregnancy these last few months, or so she thought. Warm tears were beginning to stream down her face as she entered a clearing where a big black lion sat. One word rang through her mind 'Mrengo'. She crept up behind him, trying not to make a noise on the crunchy snow. She sank her head into his thick mane, startling him.

"Whisp? Why did you try and hide our cub from me?" His velvety voice began to soothe her somewhat. "The signs clearly stated that you were pregnant. Eating and sleeping more, hunting less. How long did you think you could keep it from me?" Whisp began to say something but the tears picked up even faster than before.

Her voice quivered as she spoke."I…I didn't want to hurt you.

Mrengo looked puzzled at the least."Why do you think the thought of having cubs would hurt me?" he questioned.

Whisp began to reply slowly."Not the thought of a cub, the thought of losing me. When I was younger my mother told me I could never have cubs. My hips are too small and my death or the cubs would surely come by the birth." Whisp's face was now sodden with tears. The look of pained realization crossed Mrengo's face. He snuggled closer to Whisp cherishing one of their last moments.

Several hours into the morning of the next day Mrengo sat alone in a cave with a white cub, his daughter and his wife's body. The cub mewled pitifully as it searched for milk that would never come. Being so grief stricken, Mrengo didn't pick up the scent of an approaching lioness. She entered the cave and roused Mrengo out of his state of grief. She picked the hungry cub up and motioned for Mrengo to follow. Not until they were at the pines did Mrengo realize that the lioness was the birthing guide for the Northern White pride. While Mrengo hung back realizing this, arrangements were made in the birthing den. One of the mothers would be taking the cub in. She would live.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_The lioness called Laini had cared for the cub since Sheba, the birthing guide had brought her back._ 'Poor Whisp' Laini thought. The cub reflected a mixture of Mrengo's and Whisp's looks. Today was the day the cub moved to the older cub den.

"Go on little one." Laini nudged the white cub called Arkwing out the cave. Arkwing stepped into the bright sunlight and looked about. It was her first time out of the birthing den, excluding her birth trip. She spotted a mass of black fur lounging under a big pine. She skipped over to greet him.

"Daddy!" she purred as she tumbled into the lions warm arms.

Mrengo gave her a lick on the top of her head and asked "Hey kiddo, how's it going so far? Do you like it out here?"

"I very much like it, but it's rather cold out here." She replied as she snuggled in her daddy's arms.

"That it is." Mrengo laughed "That it is."

Arkwing's first encounter with the outdoors had happened two moons ago, in Green Moon when the grasses and leaves were just budding. It was now Warm Moon and the snow had been completely replaced with luscious grasses. Arkwing had gotten bigger since then. Her mind was now sharper, her muscles stronger. On a pleasantly cool day in Warm Moon Arkwing and her den mates went out to play tag. A cool breeze was blowing that ruffled the young cub's fur. As Arkwing was running from Kukimbia she spotted a lone cub sitting under a tall fir tree.

Arkwing being of the curious type walked over to him and asked "Hey what are you doing out here all alone?"

The cub was startled by her presence. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"I'm Arkwing." She replied.

"Okay 'Arkwing' did you come out here to call me a freak too?"

She was taken aback by the question. "I don't understand."

The cub interrupted her "Oh please, don't try to pretend that you don't know I'm blind." He turned towards her for the first time, revealing milky blue eyes.

"Do you know where you are?" she asked.

"Of course I'm in the Northeastern White Pride!"

"I'm afraid not, you must have wandered off too far."

With that Arkwing wrapped her tail around the cub's shoulders and lead him to her father. A messenger was sent to the cubs pride explaining that he had stumbled a little too far out of his prides territory. The prides being friendly with one another waved the mishap away. As the cub was leaving with a lioness who was presumably his mother he mumbled "Brantvelt, my name is Brantvelt."


	3. Calendar

Not to confuse anyone with the whole moon thing instead of months, I made a reference calendar. It says which month each moon signifies and gives a quick description of what it's like.

Snow Moon-January: Some snow cover

Drip Moon- February: Snow melting; getting wetter

Rush Moon-March: Water levels at peak

Green Moon-April: Leaves and grasses budding

Leaf Moon-May: Leaves almost fully developed

Warm Moon-June: Warm out, grasses grown completely

Hot Moon-July: Hot out

Fall Moon-August: Leaves begin to turn color

Breeze Moon-September: Cool breezes blow in from the north killing plants

Chill Moon-October: The cold air sets in, snow begins to fall

Cold Moon-November: Snow cover, cold

Frost Moon- December: Still snowy


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Arkwing could be seen training from afar. It was the third time she had been knocked down in the last ten minutes and she was running short on breath.

Brantvelt sat in the dense shrubbery surrounding the training ring. It had not been an easy task for him to escape his pride. After convincing his mother that he needed a walk, he had to find his old trail. He had spent a good five minutes smelling for any trace of the trail with no luck. Suddenly the wind changed carrying his scent with it. He arrived at the training ring and began to listen to Arkwing struggle. He longed to intervene. Brantvelt listened as Kocha the Training Guide tried to coax her into fighting.

"Come on Arkwing give it one more shot." He pleaded.

"Fine." Arkwing grumpily stated as she got to her feet. She crouched down into a defensive stance and Kocha gave the signal to go. Brantvelt listened nearby as Arkwing got pummeled to the ground.

"What if I don't want to fight? Isn't there anything else I can do?" she moaned.

Kocha pondered the question for moment. A smile splayed across his face as he began "Yes, I do believe that the Healing Guide Maisha is looking for an apprentice. She's quite frail and is in need of a young, strong follower. Would you be up to the task?"

Arkwing considered it for a moment before squealing gleefully "Would I!"

"Come on then, you have to tell your father and Maisha of course.

Before Kocha could get another word in, Arkwing bounded off. She padded over to her father who was talking to Laini.

"Daddy, guess what!" she shouted.

Mrengo didn't seem too pleased to be interrupted. They must have been talking of important matters. "What?" he sighed.

"I'm going to be the Healing Apprentice for Maisha!"

Mrengo's frown vanished and a smile appeared on his face. "That's great and all but I thought you wanted to fight."

Arkwing began to stutter "Well…I guess I did but I'm terrible at fighting. The other cubs always beat me."

"It's okay kiddo, come on lets go tell Maisha that you're up for the job."

"This is very good that one so young wishes to learn the ways of a Healing Guide." Maisha explained to Mrengo. The two adults had been discussing the arrangements for Arkwing. She would be moving in with Maisha in the healing cave. Arkwing was to begin her training in the morning.

All the while Brantvelt had been watching. He turned to leave; satisfied that he had got to know more about the curious 'Arkwing'.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Hold still Arkwing." Maisha was applying the healing marks on Arkwing. A bright pink streak ran across her eyes, a blue crescent paired with a circle on her shoulder.

"Tonight you and I will make the journey to Sky Lake. There I will renew my pledge to the moon in the process renewing my marks. You however will make your first pledge. I'm telling you this now because your appearance could change. The moon will change you as it sees fit."

Arkwing started to talk "Maisha, how will my marks stay on?"

"You must come to Sky Lake. The moon will embed the marks on your fur. They last one moon. So each moon we make the trip to Sky Lake."

"Will there be anyone else there?"

"Huh…What..?" Maisha's hearing had decreased recently. She suddenly seemed to understand. "Of course! The Healing Guides from the Northwestern and Northeastern Pride's will be there. There all done." Maisha had finished applying the marks. Arkwing looked in a puddle to see her reflection. She looked very regal.

"Arkwing before we go I need you to fetch some Redclove, our stock is a little low."

Arkwing had spent the last month learning various herbs and healing techniques. She was very familiar with Redclove. It was one of their primary healing herbs. It was useful for many reason and they often combine it with other herbs to make powerful healing agents. She was heading to a bountiful patch of Redclove at the pride's border.

She bent her head to snip up some Redclove when she caught a somewhat familiar scent. She looked up and ten feet away sat Brantvelt. She quickly turned to run. Her heart told her to go to talk to him, but she had work to do. The urge bubbled over and she turned around. He was gone.

Arkwing arrived at the cave as Maisha tucked the last bit of Tansy away. "Here Maisha." Arkwing placed the Redclove on the cave floor.

"Good, now get ready to leave."


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Maisha and Arkwing had left the pride shortly after Arkwing had come back. The leaves underneath them were damp with rain. The skies were clearer now; only an occasional cloud blocked the bright light emanating from The Breeze Moon. The dusky, damp smell of fall was in the air as they walked.

As they began to climb a steep hill Arkwing asked "How much further?"

"On the other side of this hill, in the lush valley below lies Sky Lake." Maisha replied.

They reached the crest of the hill and looked into the valley below. The moon glittered along the lakes surface appearing to be made of millions of crystals. Dense evergreen forests spanned for miles on either side of the lake.

"It's amazing!" Arkwing gasped.

Maisha let out a warm chuckle and told Arkwing to follow her. She led them to a copse of rocks by the lakes shore surrounded by pine trees. An older lion sat by the rocks with young lion about Arkwing's age. Maisha padded over to the older lion and greeted him warmly.

"Arkwing I want you to meet my dear old friend, Rakorsh." Maisha stated.

Arkwing walked over and greeted the lion. She took a glance at the younger one too. He was fairly handsome. His fur was a luxurious brown and a yellow tuft of hair ran the length of his head and back. His healing marks were shades of green and blue. A serpentine looking pattern matched with a sphere was on his shoulder. An odd assortment of shapes was under his eyes.

"Ah Rakorsh I see you've acquired an apprentice." Maisha acknowledged.

His voice was scratchy when he spoke "Yes this is Mianzi. I'm getting quite old and someone strong like him would be good for the pride. "

"Where is Michezo?" Maisha questioned.

"I don't have the slightest clue." Rakorsh replied.

"I heard that the Northwestern Pride has some illness going about. Maybe she had to stay behind." Up until that point Mianzi and Arkwing hadn't said a word. Arkwing felt very relieved that he talked finally.

The group waited ten minutes for Michezo to arrive.

"Well she's clearly not coming and we must begin soon." Rakorsh said.

Maisha began to speak "I agree. Arkwing and Mianzi please listen now."


	7. Chapter 6

Maisha's voice dropped to a more serious tone as she began to speak. "We pledge ourselves to the moon not only to renew our marks but to keep our trust with the moon thriving. She judges us each time we pledge to her. She's making sure we are doing our job right."

Rakorsh began to speak next. "You must place your paws at the water's edge, just enough so the water lapses over them. Then you must touch your nose to the water's surface and say the oath."

With puzzled looks Mianzi and Arkwing asked "The oath?"

Maisha started to speak again. "Yes the words telling the moon you pledge to her. It goes 'o thy most powerful moon I pledge my loyalty and services to you; (In my current form. Change me if you see fit for I am currently not.') We don't have to say the current form part though, that's only the first time."

"Now let's begin." Rakorsh stated.

The group placed their paws at the water's edge and touched their noses to the crisp water. They began to say the oath and when they had finished a bright light began to emanate from Mianzi and Arkwing. The light flashed and as soon as it appeared it disappeared.

The young lions looked in the lake at their reflections. Mianzi now had thicker hair and an earring. Arkwing was now sporting a pink tuft of hair atop her head. They looked shocked but accepted it because the moon had made it so.

The lions said their goodbyes to each other and started the trek back to their prides.

Arkwing and Maisha arrived back at the pride right before dawn. The sun was beginning to come up and it casted long shadows. The pride was circling two strange lions. 'How odd' Arkwing thought.

Mrengo padded toward Arkwing as she entered the clearing. He had a worried look on his face.

"Arkwing! I'm glad your back. You will have to tell me about it later though. I knew your mother for a long time but I never knew she wasn't from around here. I never knew about her Arkwing but there's someone I want you to meet. Come say hello to your sister."


End file.
